dictionaries

Answers, the creator of Answers.com, plans to purchase Lexico Publishing Group, the parent of Dictionary.com.

Through the deal, Answers will inherit a collection of Web properties that "generate approximately three times the total page views of Answers.com," according to an Answers statement.

In addition to Dictionary.com, Lexico also owns Thesaurus.com and Reference.com.

Lexico Web sites had a total of 11.5 million unique users in June, Answers Chairman and CEO Robert S. Rosenschein said in a Tuesday Webcast.

"The combined properties (of Answers and Lexico) would have reached a total of … Read more

Gspell is a great little add-on for Mac users to add system-wide spelling recommendations from Google search results. For 10.4 users, Tiger's had spell-checking from the New Oxford American Dictionary built in, but even that has its limits when it comes to brand-new words and company names. Gspell's solution is to search Google to find spelling recommendations based on top results. This comes in handy when typing in people's last names, or site names that are slight variations of real words, such as Digg, Yelp, and CNET.

Gspell does have a few limitations. For one, it … Read more

We came across Merriam-Webster's MWD-480 as part of TechEBlog's feature on must-have gadgets for college kids. It's an electronic dictionary that doubles as an MP3 player. Just think: now you can look up antidisestablishmentarianism while listening to Slayer.

The MWD-480 has 274,000 definitions in its database. A phonetic spell correction feature allows you to enter words the way they sound and get alternatives for misspellings--type in "nolige," for example, and see "knowledge." Another function, called Confusables, alerts you when one word might be mistaken for another (their vs. there)--thus letting you … Read more

We apparently weren't the only ones who mistook this e-dictionary for one of the "SideShow" laptops that have been shown off recently. Although both have external screens that appear similar at first glance, as Engadget points out, Sharp's digital dictionary is strictly for serious wordsmiths "with something like 67 volumes of assorted dictionaries and their associated language learning tools, an e-Book reader, audio-book capabilities, an FM radio, and of course a voice recorder." That little display on the lid lets you control the audio and conserve power without using the main 5-inch screen inside. … Read more

Now this is a USB drive that comes preloaded with something we might actually use, as opposed to others we've seen recently. Tech Digest says Disgo is offering a 2GB storage key that carries the "Concise Oxford English Dictionary" so you'll never have an excuse for any typos. This could be invaluable for those of us who have become dependent on Web dictionaries but occasionally find ourselves without a Wi-Fi connection. (We don't trust automated spell checkers either.) It even has games designed to improve spelling skills, but we wouldn't recommend this as a … Read more

Crave is tempted to issue a challenge to tech manufacturers: Take 5 minutes and actually name your product, rather than spit out a serial number like some convict from A Clockwork Orange. It's Marketing 101 (which we never even took).

Sharp is at least one company that has figured this out, as evidenced by its "Papyrus" line of electronic dictionaries. And its latest model seems as creative as its name, at least on paper (sorry), though it's apparently available only in China. It has two screens--the main display and a smaller touch screen in the touchpad … Read more